Malawi needs to transform its farming systems by embracing agroecology to tackle climate change, soil degradation and declining crop yields, officials and farmers at a regional forum in Lilongwe have said.
The meeting, brought together researchers, farmers, civil society organisations and government representatives under the theme “Bringing together research, teaching and practice to advance agroecology.”
Speaking during the forum organised by the Seed and Knowledge Initiative and partners, Deputy Director of Land Resources in the Ministry of Agriculture, MacPherson Nthala said Malawi could no longer rely heavily on synthetic inputs if it wanted sustainable food production.
“We need to transform our agriculture sector,” he said.
“Agroecology is at the centre of transforming the agriculture system in Malawi. It’s about working with nature and reducing dependence on external inputs, particularly chemical inputs.”
Nthala said years of dependence on inorganic fertilisers had coincided with worsening land degradation and falling yields, despite initial gains in production.
“The conventional way of farming has become very unsustainable,” he said.
“The high cost of fertilisers, land and soil degradation, how do we reverse this? Agroecology is coming as a solution.”
The forum also heard calls for closer collaboration between governments, researchers and farming communities to strengthen sustainable food systems across Africa.
Director of the Seed and Knowledge Initiative, Lindy Morrison said agroecology could not succeed through isolated efforts.
“The transformation to agroecology is not going to happen through individual contributions.
“There has to be collaboration,” she said.
Morrison further said farmers’ traditional knowledge should be treated with the same importance as academic research, arguing that communities already held many of the solutions to food insecurity and environmental degradation.
“The solution is in Africa,” she said. “The solution is there in communities.”
Farmer and agroecology practitioner Aaron Moyo told the gathering that adopting agroecological methods had helped him overcome challenges linked to pests, diseases and climate shocks.
“I’m an agroecologist farmer,” he said. “I’m working with nature. For nature to feed me, I have to work with it.”
Moyo said intercropping and nature-based farming practices allowed farmers to grow several crops on the same land while improving resilience to droughts and heatwaves.
He argued that agroecology could help reduce dependence on imported fertilisers and chemicals while improving food security for smallholder farmers.
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